Alice's Lament
by DivineJudgment
Summary: I am Alice. Cruel, evil, invincible Alice. I am rich and famous beyond my wildest dreams- me, the teenage CEO of a successful corporation. But as I look out over my new kingdom of Leaf Valley, all I can think of is how I could ruin the lives of so many...


**Author's Note:** So, I just got Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley. And I must say, pretty impressed so far. I am completely and utterly in love with a new character named Alice, the main antagonist and possible bachelorette. She is essentially the Witch Princess of Hero of Leaf Valley. And I love every part of her evil, cynical little tsundere self. As such, I decided to write about the last night she has before she tears down Leaf Valley and her thoughts about the whole situation. And of course, a little romance is thrown in there for a cute little ending haha.

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I am Alice.

Cruel, evil, invincible Alice. I am rich and famous beyond my wildest dreams- me, the eighteen year old CEO of a successful corporation. But now, as I look out over my new kingdom, my new play toy, all I can think about is how I thought I could stand ruining the lives of so many innocent people…

I had given this town two years to raise 50,000 gold pieces- an impossible feat, and I knew it. A boy had just taken over the rickety old ranch that stood at the edge of the town, and with this new addition came hope. Hope that maybe, somehow, this village would be saved. But what a false hope that was.

The boy, Jack was his name, had worked tirelessly to rebuild this town. His farm was enormous- his barn and coop were filled to the brim with chickens, cows and horses of every shape and size. He had seven fields of various crops that seemed to radiate with health. He had done the best he could do. But his best wouldn't save him from his inevitable fate.  
The two years were almost up. It was Winter 30th, one day before I trotted down to that forsaken farmland and demanded my money or else. The moon loomed over my head as I lay flat against the patch of white roses that bloomed outside my office despite the harsh winter cold. It was surprising that such beautiful flowers could withstand such negativity surrounding it, surrounded by my fortress and the mines. Then again, every rose has its thorns.

I had been fighting with myself over my plans for what seemed like hours. Part of me told me that what I was doing was completely and utterly wrong, while the other whispered soothing words and told me everything was perfectly fine. This was my day.  
I had always heard of people talk of the angel and devil that sit on your shoulder, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. Unfortunately, I was born without an angel to guide me. I was wholly devil.

I envied those who had only an angel. Pure hearted folks, like that pink haired woman who runs the flower shop or the weak little maid that's always stumbling all over the place. They were both beautiful, young women who had found their life's calling as early as I had. But why were they so sweet and innocent and I so ruthless?

Was it my fault I had a dysfunctional family? Was it my fault my mother left me at birth, blaming her unsupportive husband and her supposedly worthless child that, according to her, _must_ have been cursed to her by Satan himself because of her hellish twenty four hours of labor? Was it my fault my father had my whole future mapped out for me, and when I strayed even a bit from the path, he would beat my hopes and dreams out of me? Was it my fault I had been made so cold by events I had no control over?

I had tried church. Some travelers had come to Leaf Valley and set up a chapel near the company headquarters. After mustering up a substantial amount of courage, I snuck as quietly as a mouse into the cathedral. I slipped into the back row of the crowded room, and tried listening as intently as possible to the preacher's sermon. Coincidentally, his message was about repentance. He spoke about how we were all sinners and how we needed to atone for what we had done. What had I ever done to deserve this? I had gone to my last church service.  
Then there was that farm boy, Jack. How could I even begin to describe someone like him? In one word, he was a hero. He was diligent, intelligent and most of all, persistent. No matter how much I tried to push him away from me, he kept finding his way back into my life. He would come day after day to my office and give me some ore from the mine or a few jewels, whether I accepted them or not. He would chatter on about the farm and his dog and his (what seemed like) thousands of cows, whether he realized I was listening intently as I was or not. No matter how much I constantly reminded him how we were enemies and nothing else, he would shrug and give me his signature goofy grin and say, "You know what I think?" And I would scoff and respond, "And just what do you think, Jack Harvester?" And he would put his hand, smooth and silky despite his endless hours of farm work, onto my shoulder and tell me, "I think that, deep down, you really like being with me."

Curse how that boy made me blush. My face would go ruby red and I would swat his arm away every time without fail just to draw his attention away from my rapidly reddening face. "N-no, I don't! Now get out!" I would stammer and spin on my heel, so he couldn't see my frustration (with him or my reaction, I could never tell) and point him towards the door. And he would hug me, every day, and whisper- "I'll be back again tomorrow."

And he did come back, every single day. Not a day passed by when he wouldn't show his idiotic little face around my office. He didn't feel the need to knock, as he felt that he was welcome, seeing as how we were "friends". He would trot on in and sometimes sneak up behind me and scare me, or jump on top of me (something that admittedly, felt extremely awkward, yet I never pushed him away) or plop my daily gift on my bare midriff.

Yesterday, however, was different. He came to me in tears. It was the first (and the last, I so desperately prayed, though no one could hear) time I had ever seen him cry. He kneeled at the foot of my couch and begged and begged and begged to save the town. He told me how he couldn't get the money, no matter what he did. He could sell all of his animals, sell his entire property, his dog, all of his possessions, and he still wouldn't have the money necessary. He muttered through sobs about how it was all his fault and what a failure he was. When I said nothing, for I was left speechless at his exasperation, he merely stood up and walked towards the elevator, pressed the down button, turned to face me, his face tear-stained and red and said, "I thought we could be friends" and left me.

I cried that night. How long it had been since I had cried about _anything_. It was a simple thing, really- I didn't cry for crying did nothing to help the situation. But I couldn't help myself. My body was at war with itself. One half screaming at me to "make the right choice" and the other half screaming at its opposite to "shut up and let her do whatever she wants".  
And now here I am, underneath the weeping willows, surrounded by flowers that have probably cut me by now though I could not feel the blood, trying to make the right choice. Was there even a choice to be made? I had to take over this village. If not, my father would hunt me down and, most likely, kill me.

But if I didn't save the town, what would I have left? A truckload of guilt bearing down on me the rest of my miserable life and no friends to account for it. Sure, I had Charles and Renton, but they never thought much of me, as far as I could tell. If some other wealthy brat came along and offered them more money than me, I was sure they would leave me. …Well, Charles might stay. Renton always told me he "had a thing" for me. But I never cared- he wasn't the one I longed for.

What was it with me? I was supposed to be the sexy bad girl who dated the richest troublemaker she could find, whether she was happy or not. Yet I found myself attracted to some goody two shoes farmer who couldn't even scrape up 50,000 gold in two whole years.

As such, I was annoyed (but to be honest, not very surprised) when I found him sprawled out on the grass next to me. "Alice?" I shot straight up and glared at him. "What the _heck_ are you doing here?"

He inched closer and closer to me and I backed away, but not too quickly as to scare him off. I wanted someone next to me right now, even if it had to be him of all people. "Alice, I came to see you because I wanted to apologize." My emerald eyes grew wider. Apologize? Why should he, the hero of Leaf Valley, have to apologize for anything?  
"What I did yesterday, it was selfish and wrong and stupid and, ugh, I can't even tell you how terrible I felt when I went to bed last night. Can you ever forgive me?" I found myself staring, mouth agape a bit. This boy had done nothing but feverishly attempt to befriend me and all I had done was brush him off. And yet here he is, apologizing to me. "…yes".  
He tilted his head, and his chocolate brown eyes went wide with either uncertainty or surprise, I couldn't tell which. "What?" he asked. I sighed and stared straight into his eyes, which was quite difficult to do without blushing. "I said I forgive you."

His face instantly brightened and he threw his arms around me spewing "thank you" and "you're the best" like there was no tomorrow. As much as I wanted to push him away, I found my body acting of its own free will and embracing him back. What a fool I must have looked like. Me, Alice Leblanc, the cynical CEO, hugging some lowly farmer. Goddess, what was the matter with me? It must have been the stress, yeah that's it.

"Close your eyes." Though my mind told me with every fiber of my being not to, since I was starting to lose my sanity from stress anyways, I figured I might as well entertain him a little tonight. I heard him shuffling around and taking some deep breaths and then he took my petite hand and lifted me up. "Open your eyes" I heard him speak again, and once more I obeyed his command.

It took a moment or two for my eyes to adjust, or maybe I just couldn't believe what he was doing, but I stood frozen in my spot for what felt like hours. Jack was on one knee, still gripping my hand. "Alice," he began, his voice calming my nerves, "I could not gather enough money to save my homeland. And in that regard I failed. But I want to make a deal with you." At this, I cocked my eyebrow. What could he possibly have to offer me? "If you agree to save the valley," he pulled out an object from his pocket, "I will marry you."

I gasped, my eyes went wide, and for a moment, I could not breathe. The object came into focus at last- a gorgeous diamond ring with the words _I Love You_ engraved on the sides. Now, everything inside of me was screaming. I felt the storm surge and rage inside of me, burning my lungs and making my heart beat faster and faster by the moment.

And all at once I collapsed. I fell to the floor and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, 'til I had run dry of tears. How long had it been since someone had seen me cry? I shoved my face into my palms and prayed that Jack would not be so startled by my reaction. I felt his warm, strong arms wrap around my fragile figure and hold me tight. He cradled me and soothed me, though the words fell on deaf ears. Before I could fully control my emotions, I said the only possible answer I could think to say. "Yes."

It was illogical. It was blasphemy. It was crazy. But I loved it. I had finally freed myself of my father's shackles. I felt freed at long last- liberated. My heart was heavy no longer. I could make my own decisions- screw my father. He would control my future no longer. I was free to make my own destiny.

Jack grabbed my chin and pressed his lips on mine, and Goddess did they feel good. He tasted of apples and smelled of cinnamon. How long had it been since I had felt love? Was this truly what it felt like?

But then a thought occurred to me. "Jack," I pulled away from the kiss and questioned. His face immediately was washed over with concern. "What's wrong, Alice? …Was I too rough? I'm sorry I-"  
"No, that's not what I meant. Jack, will the villagers hate me? I did try to destroy their homes after all. Will they hate me? And you too?"

He did the strangest thing (not that I didn't expect that from someone like him)- he laughed. He shook his head and told me, "Darling, I'll make sure no one will hate you. They've always seen the good in you that I've always known is in you. They were the ones who convinced me to propose to you, here, tonight. They love you almost as much as I do."

He held me close again and I muttered, "Thank you." And as we fell asleep in that embrace, underneath the moonlight and the twinkling stars, I felt love for the first time in years. How cliché it was, the good boy turning the bad girl's life around and falling in love. But you know what, maybe clichés should happen more often. After all, all people like me want, whether they say it or not, is love. To find their happily ever after in the arms of the person who loves them most.

No longer will I be the malicious brat I once was. I will be kind and forgiving and open minded and loving to my children. I no longer follow the path that has been laid before me. I make my own path. I will shape my own destiny.


End file.
